How to File a Claim for Surplus Funds
You must understand your legal rights before, during, and after a foreclosure to protect your financial interests. One valuable resource to consider during this challenging time is a real estate lawyer. By consulting a lawyer, you can gain valuable insights and guidance on exercising important rights, including how to proceed with claiming surplus funds from a foreclosure.
A real estate lawyer understands your state’s foreclosure laws and can identify when you deserve surplus funds from a foreclosure sale. They can analyze your specific situation, evaluate any surplus funds that may be available, and determine the best course of action. Whether it’s negotiating with the foreclosing party or filing the necessary applications, a lawyer will maximize your chances of reclaiming surplus funds.
While it may be tempting to handle foreclosure matters independently, you can cause lasting damage to your financial situation by doing so. By partnering with a real estate lawyer, you can approach the situation with confidence, knowing that a knowledgeable professional is advocating for your best interests.
When dealing with a foreclosure and seeking to claim surplus funds, consulting a real estate lawyer is a wise investment of your time and resources. Their experience will provide you with the necessary guidance and support to increase the likelihood of a successful outcome. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a lawyer who can be your ally in safeguarding your financial interests during this stressful time.
What Are Surplus Funds?
If you’re unfamiliar with the term “surplus funds,” it refers to the remaining funds from a foreclosure sale that are left over after the mortgage and any associated fees have been paid. These surplus funds can often be a significant amount of money, and as a homeowner or former homeowner, you may be entitled to claim them.
When a property goes into foreclosure, it is typically sold at auction to recoup the outstanding debt owed by the homeowner. However, the bank is only entitled to take what you owe on the mortgage (and fees and penalties they are allowed to charge) from a foreclosure sale. If you have owned the property for some time, the chances are you have built up some equity in the property. An appreciation in real estate values also means that the property might be worth far more than you paid for it. The result may be that there are surplus funds you are entitled to after the trustee sells your property.
These funds are meant to be returned to the homeowner or other parties with a legal interest in the property, such as lienholders or judgment creditors. But understanding and accessing surplus funds can be a confusing process, which is why you should consult a real estate attorney. An attorney who knows foreclosure law can guide you through the process and determine if you meet the legal requirements to claim your rightful share of the surplus funds.
One of the primary reasons to engage an attorney when dealing with surplus funds is their experience in interpreting and understanding the laws and regulations governing foreclosure sales and surplus funds in your jurisdiction. These laws can vary significantly from state to state, and an attorney can ensure you are aware of your rights and entitlements under the law.
Additionally, an attorney can navigate the often complicated and bureaucratic process of claiming surplus funds. They will ensure that all the necessary paperwork is properly filed and submitted within the required timeframes, avoiding any potential pitfalls or delays that can jeopardize your claim.
Furthermore, having an attorney represent you sends a clear message to other parties involved, such as lienholders or judgment creditors, that you are serious about claiming your share of the surplus funds. An attorney can negotiate on your behalf and protect your interests throughout the process.
Understanding surplus funds and claiming your rightful share can be a complex and challenging endeavor. However, with the help of an experienced attorney, you can meet the legal requirements when possible and ensure that you receive what you are entitled to. Don’t leave money on the table – reach out to a knowledgeable attorney today and take the necessary steps to claim your surplus funds.
Why You Need Surplus Funds
Foreclosure is a financially catastrophic result for you and your family. You may have lost the home that you owned for years because you ran into financial difficulties. You need every dollar that is coming to you that is rightfully yours. Surplus funds can help you begin to rebuild your finances. They can stabilize your financial situation and allow you to begin again when you are finding a new living situation. Although it may be some time before you can qualify for a mortgage again, these surplus funds can at least help you begin to repair your credit and save again for a down payment on a new home when you can afford one.
How to File the Claim for Surplus Funds
The recovery process for surplus funds is not as easy as it may seem. The trustee involved in the process does not always make it easy for you to get the full amount of money you are owed from the sale of your property. Even though you have legal rights, you may need to take steps to enforce them. You may even need to file a lawsuit against the trustee if they will not fully pay you or they engaged in misconduct in the sale of your property.
Theoretically, you should have been notified by a trustee or a court that there are surplus funds available to you. If you did not receive this notification, it is crucial to check in with the trustee to learn about the status of any possible surplus funds. You may have a limited amount of time to act, so you must reach out to the trustee if you are expecting surplus funds and have not heard anything yet.
In reality, the trustee is supposed to do the work on their own to make sure that you get the funds. If they have your address, they should calculate the amount of money that you are due and make sure that they send it to you. In practice, things do not always work this way. There are numerous hurdles in the surplus funds claims recovery process that can make it more difficult for you to recover the full amount of money that you are owed. The court is often involved in the surplus funds claims process, and a judge may determine whether you are entitled to any money. In the meantime, you may need to file a claim with the court and be prepared to prove that you once owned the property in question.
The actual process to claim surplus funds depends on the state that you are located in because foreclosure is a matter of state law. Theoretically, you should not even have to make an actual claim because the trustee is merely sending you the money that is already rightfully yours.
Some states will impose a deadline to formally file this claim. You may need to make a claim in writing to receive your surplus funds. However, you may not know the exact amount of money that you are due because you do not have the details of the actual sale and information about the exact penalties that you may have been assessed. Thus, some level of engagement with the trustee may be necessary during the process. Recovery of surplus funds may not be something that you can effectively accomplish with the mere exchange of a letter or two. It is entirely possible that you will need advocacy throughout the process.
The Trustee Cannot Do Whatever They Please
The reason why they are called a trustee is because there is a trust relationship between you and the entity conducting the foreclosure sale of your property. Essentially, they are acting as your agent in the sale of the property. You have a direct financial interest in the results of the trustee’s actions, so they owe you certain duties. Specifically, the trustee owes you fiduciary duties in the sale of your property and throughout the entire process.
A trustee owes you two specific duties as part of their job:
- Duty of care: The trustee must not be negligent when they are handling the sale of your property. They must exercise due diligence, and they must employ commercially reasonable methods in the sale of your property.
- Duty of loyalty: The trustee must avoid conflicts of interest in selling your home. They cannot conduct business with a related entity, and they cannot buy the property themselves. They must put your financial interests ahead of theirs.
A trustee can be personally sued when they violate the duties that they owe you. Not only can you recover your own financial losses, but you may even be entitled to punitive damages based on the degree of the trustee’s fault.
Use a Foreclosure Attorney and Not a Surplus Funds Recovery Agent
Be very careful about agents who promise you their help to recover your surplus funds in exchange for a fee. Some of these agents may ask you for as much as 30 percent of the amount that they recover as the fee for their so-called help. Others may promise that they are indispensable, and they charge an exorbitant amount of money for what they do, even though it may be very little.
There are many potential issues with a surplus funds recovery agent. The first is that you never quite know who you are dealing with and whether they are even representing you at all. Some people who claim to be agents may take your money and do nothing at all. There have even been instances in which agents have absconded with the money altogether.
These agents also operate in a space that may not even be regulated at all. There may not be any licensing requirements, and you have no way of knowing that the agent is good at their job or even providing any value at all. If this industry seems like the “Wild West,” it is because there is no central agency that controls how business is done.
If you are seeking any help to recover the surplus funds that you are due, it is better to hire a foreclosure attorney to represent you when dealing with the trustee. You may have already hired a foreclosure lawyer earlier in the process who can continue their work until the very end when you have all of the surplus funds you deserve in your account.
A foreclosure attorney owes you their own fiduciary duties as your agent and lawyer. They must work in your interests and not their own. A foreclosure attorney is regulated by their own state bar. They must follow the rules of professional responsibility in their own state. If the foreclosure attorney has done anything wrong, you may file a complaint with the state bar, and they will be investigated. In addition, there is always the possibility of a malpractice lawsuit. In other words, there is accountability you can get by hiring a foreclosure attorney, which is not possible with a surplus funds recovery agent.
A foreclosure attorney can also provide you with all the representation that you need in one place. There is a chance that you may need to file a lawsuit against the financial institution or the trustee, and a foreclosure attorney can do that for you. When your lawyer speaks with the bank or trustee, they do so with some credibility because they know the law, and they can take strong legal action on your behalf if necessary.
You may have no choice but to file a lawsuit to seek the surplus funds that you are due. You have no control over the trustee that the bank will use to conduct the foreclosure sale. This person may not work in your interests, and they may drag their feet in actually sending you the money you are owed if they even pay it to you at all. The amount the trustee claims they owe you can be far less than you are really due.
Either way, you may need to put legal pressure on the trustee to do what they are obligated to under the terms of the law. This task may have to be done through the court system. The trustee can be personally liable if they breach the fiduciary duty that they owe you. They may only take notice of you if you have approached them with a foreclosure attorney because they understand there can be personal consequences.